A revolution in iron racing.
The inaugural Nutri-Grain Iron X will be held at Mooloolaba Beach on the Sunshine Coast on January 27th, 2019 and will be the richest single iron race in history.
The race is the brainchild of former multi-Australian board paddling champion and Nitro Circus Live founder Mike Porra.
“The concept behind the event is to take some of the most innovative and exciting new ocean and fitness disciplines and incorporate them in one race along with the traditional iron legs to create the most spectacular and intimidating iron race ever held.”
“SLSA agreed that the sport needed something revolutionary to capture the imagination of Australia’s sporting media and the general public and to showcase the extraordinary skills of the Iron athletes”.
“Nutri-Grain Iron X was the result.” Porra said.
The race will begin with a board leg over an M-shaped course with the halfway turning buoy set inside the breaking wave zone, necessitating a highly skilful marker turn while surfing a wave.
Competitors hit the beach and set about taking on “Battleground One”, which will be an 800m soft sand run with five major obstacles, including a 20-foot-high vertical rope climb, 50 energy sapping monkey bar grabs and 20 metres of back-breaking tyre flips.
The swim is next, but not like a swim you’ve ever seen before. At the back of the M-shape course, competitors will swim the 30m between the buoys underwater. A lung-busting challenge in the middle of the swim leg performed not once but twice on each side of the swim course.
Any athlete who comes up before completing the underwater section is sent around a penalty buoy positioned a further 40m out to sea.
After the swim comes the super-exciting andfirst ever stand up paddleboard leg.
This leg will test the traditional Ironmen and Ironwomen to the limit as it is the most difficult of all ocean disciplines to master. Expect the SUP specialists, to come right through the pack and challenge for the lead during this discipline. Again, the turning mark at the halfway point in the SUP will be within the break, testing the surfing skills of all athletes.
After the SUP, the Ironmen and Ironwomen take on “Battleground Two,” with five new imposing obstacles to tackle including a 50m hands and knees commando net crawl and 30 separate muscle busting ring swing grabs.
The race finishes with the fastest of all disciplines, the ski leg, over the M shaped course with the inside turning mark again being inside the break, ensuring that anything can happen right up until the final stages of the race.
Nutri-Grain Iron X will be televised live on Fox Sports.
The coverage and production values will be greatly enhanced to include in-water cameras on jet skis and on quad bikes following athletes through the Battleground Challenges, all this being commentated on by high profile ex Ironmen and Ironwomen.
A super elite field of 12 men and 12 women will be invited to compete.
Nutri-Grain Iron X will pit the greatest traditional Ironmen and Ironwomen against the greatest ocean athletes.